We must again dwell on the principles already emphasized, that
soils must be treated according to their nature. If too damp, they
must be drained; if of the fortunate quality of a sandy loam
resting on a clay subsoil, they can be abundantly deepened and
enriched from the start, if of a heavy clay, inclined to be cold
and wet in spring, and to bake and crack in summer, skill should
aim to lighten it and remove its inertia; finally, as we have
shown, a light, porous soil should be treated like a spendthrift.
All soils, except the last-named, are much the better for being
enriched and deeply plowed or forked in October or November. This
exposes the mould to the sweetening and mechanical action of
frost, and the fertilizers incorporated with it are gradually
transformed into just that condition of plant food which the
rootlets take up with the greatest ease and rapidity. A light
soil, on the contrary, should not be worked in autumn, but be left
intact after the crops are taken from it.
In one respect a light soil and a stiff, heavy one should be
treated in the same way, but for different reasons. In the first
instance, fertilizers should be applied in moderation to the
surface, and rains and the cultivation of the growing crops
depended upon to carry the richness downward to the roots.
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